Monitor Draws Zero Power on Standby

Standby power is the bane of all electricity consumption. Essentially if there is a light coming out of a device, it is consuming power. It is such an important problem that the British Government is considering banning standby power altogether. As part of their green initiatives, Fujitsu Siemens has come up with a new type of monitor that uses zero standby power. Is this the solution?

The technology, which can be applied to any type of monitor, whether it is a television, or a computer screen, works by storing electricity into additional capacitors within the device. When the device is turned off, the capacitors maintain a charge of power that will allow the monitor to be brought back to life immediately, as long as it happens within five days. This technology is expected to go into production into new monitors next spring.

Having said that, and while we applaud the measure, wouldn’t it just be easier for everyone to turn their power off when they stop using them?

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6 Comments

As to the last comment, yeah it would be great if we would just make millions of people perform their little duties like trained seals.

In other news, it’s been 45 years since we put a person on the moon and we seriously are too lazy and stupid to have electrical systems with an OUNCE of intelligence?? why don’t we make the utilities keep up with reality? They line their pensions and give themselves pay raises all the time, and they still have turning meters and run around doing nothing but collecting money for themselves (and where I live, they bungled that to the tune of $85M last year!).

Simple solution: systems built by technology companies, that have each item logging into the power grid, receiving authorization and then being allowed to use power under certain terms for certain amounts of time, then the ability to terminate those things easily from anywhere including by a simple script, e.g. turn off all these things at midnight.

sighJanuary 10, 2008 at 12:33 am

because flipping any electrics, especially lights, anything with lights, etc, on and off severely shortens its lifespan. thats why there is a lightbulb in the us that been used for over 100 years. it has never been turned off. while we kill our lights (any kind, flourscent, lcd, incadescent, halogen, etc) everytime we flip em on and off.

[…] life, Environment, Technology at 2:35 pm by LeisureGuy When you’re not using it, that is: no power used in stand-by mode. Standby power is the bane of all electricity consumption. Essentially if there is a light coming […]

simon seasonsNovember 12, 2007 at 5:33 pm

Wouldn’t it what! I can’t understand why they monitors and heeaps of other electrical goods need stwitches at all if you have to go around the house turning everything off at the powerpoint, after having ‘turned it off’ at the desk/ kitchen/ loungeroom/ bedroom. Was it some sort of ‘good idea’ that the electric companies and the electrical good manufacturers came up with to get people to use more power? If so it a bloomin’ nuisance as well as a scam, whose time has come to an end. Good riddnace to ‘stand by’. After all isn’t that the primary function of a power point on the wall.